The present invention relates to electronic postage meters, and more particularly to electronic postage meters of the stand-alone type such as disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 447,815, filed on even date herewith in the name of DANILO BUAN and entitled, STAND-ALONE ELECTRONIC MAILING MACHINE.
Known electronic postage meters like their earlier mechanical forerunners have generally included two separate units, i.e., a postage meter and a base or mailing machine to enable the postage meter to be physically taken to the Post Office periodically to recharge the meter. Such a meter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,507 issued on Nov. 17, 1981 and assigned to Pitney Bowes, Inc. of Stamford, Conn.
With the advent of remote meter resetting systems, it is no longer necessary that the postage meter be separated into two distinct units since the necessity to take the meter to the Post Office for recharging has been eliminated. Further, it is desirable to have a self-contained electronic postage meter that includes the metering function as well as all drive mechanisms to reduce the size and weight of the meter as well as making it more economical to produce. The mechanical construction of such a meter is disclosed in detail in the aforementioned patent application entitled, STAND-ALONE ELECTRONIC MAILING MACHINE.
The program for use in such a stand-alone postage meter is disclosed in the accompanying Program Appendix. There are certain similarities between the program disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,507 and the present program. However, there are also several unique exceptions, one of which is the routine for monitoring the status of the trip cycle through power down as will be described more fully hereinafter.